Latest / The Daily Article / Do you wish death were obsolete? Punxsutawney Phil, longer lifespans, and the providence of God

Transcript

Do you wish death were obsolete? Punxsutawney Phil, longer lifespans, and the providence of God · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Greetings on this Tuesday, February the 3rd, 2020-6.
• 0:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily article podcast from Dinnison Forum.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's daily article written by CEO and co-founder Dr. Jim Dinnison.
• 0:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: For those who aren't ready for winter to be over, the bad news is that Puxetani Phil saw his shadow yesterday predicting six more weeks of polar vortexes and misery for millions.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: The good news is that, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Phil is among the least reliable of all groundhog prognosticators coming in at 35% accuracy.
• 0:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: By this measure, if you want an early spring, you're glad Phil predicted a long winter.
• 0:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's not, however, the only forecaster in the news today.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Center for Health Statistics is reporting that U.S. life expectancy has hit an all-time high.
• 1:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Their studies indicate that if you're a woman, you can expect to live 81.4 years, then can expect a lifetime of 76.5 years.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: For some people, however, this good news is not good enough.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: A recent MIT technology review headline invites us to, quote, meet the vitalists, the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is wrong.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to them, humanity has an incredible moral duty to extend lifespan indefinitely.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: While they admit that there is no current way to make death obsolete, that's their goal.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Here's my confession.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Part of me wishes they had already succeeded.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that I will go to heaven when I die.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that this life cannot begin to compare with that life and that after one instant on that side, I'll be eternally glad I'm there according to Revelation 21 verse 4.
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that I could die at any moment and find myself in Jesus' presence affirmed in Hebrews 9 verse 27, and Acts 111 affirms that he could appear at any moment at ours.
• 2:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: But in full transparency, I don't want that day to be this day.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have more I want to do in this life.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to reach more people with God's word.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to see my grandchildren grow up.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to experience more of the beauty of this incredible world and die when I have nothing more to give.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'd rather not suffer on the way to my death and emphatically do not want those I love to suffer on the way to theirs.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: If someone could have abolished death,
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: but enable us to step from this world into the next when we're ready, this would seem to be the best of both options.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Does any of this resonate with you?
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, you're probably wishing I would discuss something more practical.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's inconceivable that medical science will ever abolish death entirely, and we could still die from disasters and accidents, murders and mayhem.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Given Job's wealth, his children presumably lived in the most secure structure possible for their day, but they nonetheless perished in a great wind, according to Job 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 5 and vs 18 and 19.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: That happened to them and can happen to us as well.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I will always remember visiting the original World Trade Center in New York City, for example.
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Twin Towers were so tall that I could not see their top from where I stood.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: It never occurred to me that they could one day be destroyed by terrorists flying airplanes into them.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: But while there is no plausible way, death can ever be eradicated from our fallen world, this conversation is imminently practical, despite its implausibility for a deeply significant reason.
• 3:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hebrews 2 explains the purpose of Jesus' crucifixion this way in verses 14 and 15.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: That through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death that is the devil and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Romans 815 reveals that all fear can enslave us, but the fear of death most of all.
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why is this?
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you're afraid to die, you're enslaved to whatever you believe will keep you from dying, whether it's the medicine you're taking, the diet and exercise regimen you're following, or the dangers you're avoiding.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you fall off the mortality treadmill, you can't get back on.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Even if you believe as I do that your eternity is secure in Christ, you can worry that your earthly life will end before you want it to.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: In this sense, you're subliminally skeptical of God's providence, unsure that He'll allow you to live as long as you want to live.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: This fear can enslave us to this world as we seek to make the most of our days here, since we are unsure that another day will come.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus' death frees us from such slavery in two ways.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: For those who are afraid to die, our Savior's death purchased our salvation and now provides the sure and certain passage to eternal life we seek.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, in the moment we make him our Lord, we have eternal life, stated in John 316, we are immortal from that day forward and need to have no fear of death knowing that it is but the doorway from this world to the next.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: In a very real sense, we step out of the car and go into the house, revealed by John 14 verse 2.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: But those who are afraid to die yet, Jesus' atonement offers a second benefit.
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: We can trust that a Savior who loves us enough to die for us can only want what is best for us.
• 5:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: His paradise is indescribably better than the best of this fallen world as revealed in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9, no, I has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Philippians 1, verse 23, affirms that being with Christ in heaven is therefore far better than life on this fallen planet.
• 6:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we need to remember that we can trust God not only with our destination at death, but also with its timing.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: When we live in his perfect will, stated in Romans 12 verse 2, our home going must be best for us and also for those we love.
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Even though they may not know it at the time, John 14 verse 3 and 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12, teach that one day they will understand why Jesus took us to himself when he did.
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: in that moment.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we can live free from the fear of death, secure in the assurance that our father will take us home, however, and whenever is best.
• 6:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Consequently, we can engage our culture redemptively and courageously knowing that the worst that can happen to us can lead only to the best that can happen to us.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: For more on this, please see my new website article titled, Should I Have Watch The Grammys?
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: A reflection on cultural engagement and spiritual purity.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: A link to it is in today's podcast episode notes.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ronald Reagan observed, evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.
• 7:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: So let's make evil powerless today to the glory of God.